Although it is a cloudless sky, the sea breeze in the South China Sea is still quite fierce, and there are white waves in some places, which is just a "white" and calm sea in the eyes of the old crew. On this "calm sea", a merchant ship with a white hull and a tricolor flag sails through the waves.

Different from ordinary merchant ships, there is a naval gun in the bow and stern of the merchant ship, and there are also guns on the side of the ship, which is obviously an armed merchant ship, and on the mast of the armed merchant ship, an observer is holding a telescope to search the sea, and suddenly under the morning light, a silhouette is reflected.

"Port 265 found a cruiser, I don't know if it's the enemy's, or ours?"

Listening to the report, Song Wenhui also picked up the telescope and looked in the direction of 265, and sure enough, he saw a column of smoke.

"The speed of the unknown ship is 15 knots, and the azimuth is 265 ......"

"Order the whole ship to go into combat readiness! The gunner is in position! Maximum horsepower! ”

Song Wenhui immediately gave the order.

The next moment, on this merchant ship, there were bursts of sirens.

After the siren sounded, the whole armed merchant ship boiled, and the sailors in the cabin walked in the cabin, wearing life jackets and smoke hoods, and ran quickly towards the deck, and after running to the deck, they immediately rushed to the gun emplacements and torpedo tubes, and when the sailors rushed to the deck, another officer went down to the sweaty engine room, and the sailors were desperately shoveling coal into the boiler, and at the same time the damage management personnel were in place.

"Enemy ship found, enemy ship Yoshino, speed 20 ......"

As the officers on the bridge issued orders one after another, Song Wenhui frowned from time to time, and his blunt Chinese with Hokkien and Cantonese accents was occasionally accompanied by instruction errors or confusion. But as the captain of the ship, Song Wenhui did not raise these things, but took a telescope to look at the "Yoshino" cruiser in front, which was actually just a "Jian'an" destroyer, dragging a target ship 100 meters behind the destroyer.

"Bearing 266, distance five ...... Fire! ”

When the two 120-mm rapid-fire guns and the two 88-mm secondary guns on the starboard side of the "Hantong" training ship opened fire, a burst of fire flashed on the training ship, and several waves flashed near the target ship, and all four shells were missed.

"Full throttle, full speed ahead ......"

After the order came out of Song Wenhui's mouth, another order came out.

"The six-inch caliber shell of the enemy ship hit the bow gun position, the gun commander was killed, and six people were wounded!"

The first mate beside him immediately spoke.

"Carry the body of the gun commander to the officer ship, and the wounded soldiers into the cabin,......"

A series of orders spit out from the mouth of the first mate, and a simple target shooting training was added by Song Wenhui, and through verbal imitation of battlefield casualties, in order to train the battlefield response ability of the students of the two sailor schools in Guangdong and Fujian and the newly recruited sailors.

"Second Artillery Commander! You go and command the bow gun position, fire at the maximum rate of fire, prepare the torpedo tubes, and say that the ship enters the torpedo firing range, and there is no need to wait for the order, immediately fire the torpedo......"

It was not until this meeting, with the bullet holes on the towing canvas one after another, and the orders of the training officers were also proficient, Song Wenhui felt a little satisfied, this is the first ocean-going training of the "Hantong" training ship, after this gunnery training, the next thing is to cruise in the South China Sea, sailing to the ocean has always been Song Wenhui's dream of the gunboat captain, but he never thought that his first ocean-going was in training, not the cruiser he imagined.

"Ring the ship's bell and the battle is over!"

After the crisp ship bell rang, Song Wenhui saw the "Jian'an" destroyer send a flag.

"Five hits!"

As soon as the people on the deck who were waiting anxiously saw that five shots had been hit, they immediately sighed, and they fired thirty shells, and five of them hit, which was less than 20 percent of the hit rate, and if it was on the battlefield, the hit rate would only be worse under the interference of enemy ship fire.

"Hits are earned with sweat! Fast! Fast...... Train Now"

"Training! Training! Training! For the first day! ”

After a sigh, the training ship boiled again, and the sailors and officers were once again conducting intense training according to the training subjects.

When they were training, Song Wenhui walked out of the bridge and looked north, he knew that today was the opening of the Naval Officer Academy, and he had a faint expectation in his heart for this naval officer school, which could be said to be the common expectation of every naval officer in the navy who was not from the Fujian family.

"I wish the island could change everything!"

I was looking forward to the time when the Hantong continued to sail south.

Zhangzi Island faces Zhoushan Island in the east, the shore distance is 2.5 kilometers, because the island is separated by Phoenix Mountain in the middle of the two flats of Nanao and Beiao, and the shape is like a book that is opened and placed flat, so it is called Zhangzi Island.

As soon as the morning sun came out, the sound of uniform military boots sounded on the island. The sound of neat military boots awakened the sweet dreams of the villagers in the village. When the villagers opened their hazy eyes, they saw young soldiers in navy blue uniforms and rifles on their shoulders exuding a majestic momentum, turning and walking in unison, accompanied by the sound of neat boots, and the songs of the soldiers echoed in the air.

"You and I are plum blossoms at the same time, blooming together on the campus of the Navy Academy. I have already had the consciousness of thanking as soon as I opened, let us scatter calmly for the sake of the motherland, you and I are plum blossoms at the same time, blooming together on the campus of the Navy Academy. The blood is connected and Kunzhong is difficult to give up, how can he endure the weight of parting from life and death? You and I are plum blossoms at the same time, blooming together on the campus of the Navy Academy. Looking up at the ocean dyed red by the setting sun, only the brave survived. You and I are plum blossoms at the same time, blooming together on the campus of Haibin School. We promised to die together, how could you bear to leave me alone? You and I are plum blossoms at the same time, and our words are always separate. One day in the Martyrs' Shrine, we will welcome spring together on the blossoming of the flower branches! ”

The melodic lyrics of the resolute singing echoed in the early morning of the Brochure Island with the sound of the military boots of the cadets of the Naval Academy on Brochure Island, and when they passed by the edge of the village, most of the early children looked at these majestic big brothers with admiration and envy.

Sa Zhenbing, who was riding on a horse, saluted on his horse when the morning soldiers passed by. He knew that this school song was written by the ruling party. Fan Zhen once said: "Human life is like a tree and a flower, with the same hair and a branch, and both blooming with the same branch." "The Book of Songs? Qin Feng has clouds: "How can you say that there are no clothes?" with the Son. Wang Yuxingshi, repair my spear. Enmity with the Son. How can you say that you have no clothes? With the Son. Wang Yuxingshi, repair my spear halberd. Work with the child. How can you say that you have no clothes? with the Son. Wang Yuxingshi, repair my armor soldiers. Walking with the Son". This song is about comradeship, the Navy is different from the Army, in the hierarchical Navy, "Naval Colonel at the same time" means a layer of intimacy beyond the relationship between comrades-in-arms. It represents a kind of Kunzhong feeling of "not seeking the same life, but seeking the same and dying".

"The [***] team must have the courage to die! Meet the enemy! ”

Sacrifice your life for death!

Perhaps this is exactly what the ruling government is pursuing, whether it is the navy or the army, it must give up hope of life and face the battle with a certain heart of death.

What are the duties of a military man? It is to defend the motherland and win victory! Here in the Navy, however, the purpose of war became death. Withered like a plum blossom is the most gorgeous way to die, however, can such a death win the war?

Sa Zhenbing thought in his heart, a spur at the root of his double-legged boots stabbed the horse's belly, and the black war horse ran towards the Naval Academy, today is the day when the first batch of cadets of the Naval Academy finished their military training and officially became the cadets of the Naval Academy, and Sa Zhenbing, as the principal, was going to preside over the opening ceremony.

Zhangzidao Naval Academy, when the school was established last year, was a merchant marine school established by Huaxing Shipping Company, an educational institution for the training of merchant sailors built for the company to train senior sailors and captains.

From the very beginning, this school was different from ordinary merchant marine schools, his school building was completely imitated in the United Kingdom, the school building was also planned and designed by British designers, and from the teaching building to the dormitory, and the whole school also accounted for almost half of the booklet, whether it was the size of the school or the school building is obviously not comparable to ordinary schools. Even in order to ensure the learning environment of the school, the school signed an agreement with the surrounding landlords and farmers at the time of land acquisition, and the land around the school must not be used for the construction of taverns, records and other places that may corrupt people.

In fact, from the very beginning, it was designed according to the planning of the Naval Academy, and it was Xiao Xinren, who was the professor and director of the Whampoa School at that time, who made this suggestion.

"There are many things that are needed to build a navy, such as at least having warships, having the personnel of the warships and how these personnel are constituted. Generally speaking, the most eye-catching of these three elements is warships, but in fact, the issue of warships is actually the best and simplest to handle. As long as you can get the money, you can buy anything. The shipbuilding companies of Britain, France, Germany, and the United States are all engaged in open and secret battles all over the world, and as long as they have money, they can buy any of the latest warships, but the difficulty is actually personnel training, training, and organization control. ”

"Warships have spirit because of officers, and without officers, sailors will do nothing. If the sailors do nothing, the ships become useless waste. It is by no means easy to acquire the esoteric academic skills that naval officers must master, so it is a matter of urgency to establish schools as soon as possible. ”

"Training an army officer, after half a year of short training, they can grow in the army and on the battlefield, but the navy is different, the navy is a technical army, and it is impossible to train qualified naval officers without four years."

It is precisely because of Xiao Xinren's suggestion that Chen Moran, who was the presiding officer at the time, gritted his teeth and took out 6 million, selected and chosen, and finally chose to set up a merchant marine school called a merchant marine school in the name of Huaxing Shipping Company on the book island, which is actually a naval school.

Whether in Europe and the United States or in this country, the navy has always been an aristocratic service, and naval officers are nobles, and what they pay attention to is "noble'soblige", that is, the obligations of nobles. That means that the country is yours, and you usually eat and drink well, but when the time comes, you have to go out to serve the country.

What "to become a gentleman first, then an officer", and so on, under Xiao Xinren's opposition, the merchant marine school, the school's dormitory building is built very luxurious, the teaching building is also luxurious, by no means the humble Whampoa Military Academy can be compared, even the initial 6 million is not enough, at the end of the year, an additional investment of more than 500 yuan, until May, when the merchant marine school that cost "a battleship" was completed, the war of liberation began, and the natural merchant marine school was officially named as soon as it was completed. Zhangzi Island Naval Officer School", published an enrollment advertisement through the newspaper and began to recruit students.

"Before the First Sino-Japanese War, in the face of the deterrence of the Beiyang Naval Division's "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan", when Ito Yuhiro lamented that there were no warships, the Navy had spent more than 20 years of hard work to cultivate and organize naval talents, and the effect of this effort had reached the time when it was beginning to bear fruit! And now ......"

When Ye Zugui said this, he could not help but think of the scene of the horror of the people when four warships, "Dingyuan", "Zhenyuan", "Jiyuan", and "Weiyuan," were ordered by Li Hongzhang and led by Ding Ruchang to carry out major repairs in Nagasaki.

"Our country created a navy no later than the original, but the education of the navy is far greater than that of our country...... From this naval officer school, we can also see the heart of the ruling navy! ”

Sa Zhenbing nodded, a month ago, the ruling said that the ruling axe was going to give the navy a big gift, at that time he thought it was something else, who would have thought that it would be a military academy, a large military academy with a scale far greater than all the naval academies in China.

While thinking about it, Sa Zhenbing looked at the officers wearing British Navy uniforms standing on the viewing platform not far away, the 56 British Royal Navy officers aged from their 50s to 60s, all of whom were in power to invite John with personal relationships? Abbasnot? Admiral Fisher hired the professors of the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, a considerable number of whom are old professors with rich teaching experience, Admiral Fisher is the commander-in-chief of the Royal Navy's Portsmouth Command, and the successive presidents of the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth are all the commanders of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet, and it is precisely because of this that Admiral Fisher was able to find 56 of the best professors for the Naval Academy.

Not only did 56 professors from various departments be invited, but Admiral Fisher also moved the courses and materials of the Royal Naval College to Booklet Island, and of course there was no time to translate the textbooks, and there was no need to translate them. The teacher is British, the textbook is English, do homework in English, and answer questions in English. The only place where you can use Chinese is probably just when you secretly express your dissatisfaction with this "English-speaking world" behind your back.

In the sound of the military trumpet, the tricolor flag was raised into the air, and the 465 officers and students of the Naval Officer School wore ceremonial dresses and short swords at their waists and performed the British military salute, watching the tricolor flag rise to the top of the mast of the mast of the Mast of the Shoba, and the opening ceremony was not held in the auditorium of the Naval Military Academy, which can accommodate 2,000 cadets, but the huge school, as well as the classrooms, dormitories, and auditoriums that can accommodate 2,000 cadets, all show the ambition of this school, and this naval school built on the island of Pamphlet in the Hengshui Ocean, It not only represents the ambition of the Chinese Navy in the future, but also the spirit of the Navy will begin on this once deserted island.

What is the fighting spirit of the navy, its essence can be summed up in four words -- fighting when you see the enemy. Not afraid of strong enemies, not afraid of sacrifice, brave to challenge strong opponents, even if you know that you are invincible, you must resolutely attack, fight to the end, and destroy the enemy's will with sacrifice and blood. Historically, at the last moment, the Navy has often been more determined and tenacious than the Army, and has the spirit of fighting without stopping.

"I hereby appoint Chen Shaokuan, Li Guotang, She Zhenxing, Lu Deyuan, Xu Fengzao, Yang Qixiang and other 465 students of the Naval Academy. The only goal of a soldier is to be good at war,...... I hope that in the next four years, you will be a model of the century-old spirit of Shushuzi Island! ”

Sa Zhenbing's speech was not long, and after he went down from the mast, Chen Moran, who arrived on the cruiser Hairong to attend the opening ceremony of the Naval Officer Academy, walked up to the mast.

Wearing a white military uniform, he stood on the mast and looked at these young men in navy blue naval uniforms in the arena under the stage. From their serious faces, Chen Moran could still feel that maybe China's sea soul was still there, at least in their bodies, he could see the vitality of the young people in their bodies, and in this vitality, he could feel a trace of the breath of the ocean, just a trace of it, and this military academy was to inspire and recast the sea soul in their bodies.

Ten years to build an army, a hundred years to build a navy. And it took a hundred years to build is the soul of the navy, and a fleet without a sea soul, even the most powerful warships equipped with it, will eventually die in the belly of the fish, and history has proven this time and again. The reason why the phrase "there is no navy after Beiyang" appears in history refers to the sea soul that was lost after the Beiyang War, and the sea soul was lost for a hundred years, even after a hundred years, did the Chinese Navy find its own sea soul?

It's a puzzle!

He used to rely on a belief to support his sea soul, but now? Can this school forge the soul of China's sea?

Standing on the mast and looking at this group of young people who are 17 or 8 years old and the elders are 212 years old, they are 465 elites selected from tens of thousands of people in ten provinces, Chen Moran stared at them, and first performed a military salute, the army salute is different, this military salute is a British military salute in the navy.

"Don't forget Jia Wu!"

There is no sensational speech, just four simple words!

"Snow Armor Shame!"

The 465 students' voices roared out of the four-character school motto! It is also the mission of their generation of students, and it is also the expectation of the country for them. Swearing to the shame of the first day is the mission and dream of every navy officer and sailor, and this dream has been haunting the hearts of navy officers and men for 10 years.

Looking at the naval officers and students in the audience, Chen Moran nodded with satisfaction, and his expectations for this school in his heart even exceeded that of the army, which has always been in his own control, but the navy, Yu Guang swept his eyes at Ye Zugui, Sa Zhenbing and others standing next to the platform, on the Hairong, Chen Moran really realized for the first time what a "Fujian navy" is, and almost everyone on the entire Hairong spoke Fujian, and the Fujian dialect is the official language of the navy.

From Zuo Zongtang to set up the Fujian Shipbuilding Bureau in Mawei, China's modern shipbuilding industry began from this. Set up the Mawei Ship Administration Bureau before and after the school, the former to cultivate shipbuilding talents, the latter to cultivate driving talents. Mawei Ship Master School is the cradle of China's modern navy and the birthplace of the naval division in the late Qing Dynasty. At present, the navy is monopolized by the Fujian people, from the ministers and commanders to the non-commissioned officers and miscellaneous servants, most of whom are of Fujian nationality, and the Fujian navy has long become synonymous with the Chinese navy. The so-called "Fujian system" can actually be called the "horsetail system", and the vast majority of people entered the navy after being educated by the Mawei shipbuilding school before and after the school.

The Mawei Ship Master School adopts the British naval school system, recruits 14-year-old teenagers to enroll, and most of them are recommended by Fujian people in the navy, and administers 8 years of naval officer training. From the late Qing Dynasty naval division to the present cruising and training two fleets, Fujian people have gradually gathered, and the Fujian navy has deep roots, and they control the power of the navy at all levels, and this kind of control of the navy by one province is exactly what Chen Moran does not want to see.

On the one hand, the establishment of this school is to train naval personnel, and on the other hand, it will completely replace the position of the "Min system", and the situation in which the "Min system" controls the navy will also end with the establishment of this school. None of the 365 cadets in the first phase of the naval school are from the old shipmaster or sailor school, they are all from Shanghai, Anhui, Hubei, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Fujian English teaching church schools or English universities, English textbooks, British professors, all English courses, perhaps the only existence of the Fujian Navy in this school, I am afraid that it is the principal of Sa Zhenbing, as for the school's military instructor, but from Huangpu.

On the other hand, in order to eliminate the possibility of cronyism in the future, the Navy has introduced a set of personnel procedures that are said to be fair and transparent.

Looking at these future naval officers, Chen Moran thought of the warship that his wife had purchased for this navy in Britain with all her family property, and now the entire navy was thinking about this warship, and the officers and men of the navy raised 750,000 yuan for it, and the people raised more than 12.65 million yuan for it, which could not only buy back the two battleships, but even the remaining money was enough to build another battleship.

Thinking that the navy's recent war of words over the naming and ownership of the two battleships even came to his own case, Chen Moran smiled in his heart, the Chinese Navy has not seen a big guy for ten years, and it is not surprising that everyone is red now.

"You guys...... As long as people are trained, warships, there will always be! ”

Person! The navy is no better than the army, as long as you have money, you can buy any warship, but what about people? Staring at the cadets in front of him, Chen Moran knew that this Chinese naval dream would set sail from here.

(To be continued)